[Introduced February 22, 2013; referred to the Committee on
Transportation and Infrastructure.]

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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §17-2A-8d, relating
to directing the Commissioner of Highways to conduct a study
on alternative revenue mechanisms for development and
maintenance of state roads and highways; making legislative
findings and specifying intent; requiring a study and
specifying study design; authorizing pilot projects and
interagency cooperation; and requiring report and
recommendations by certain date.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §17-2A-8d, to read as
follows:

(1) An efficient and effective transportation system is
critical for West Virginia's economy and quality of life;

(2) Continued efficiency and effectiveness depend on a stable
and reliable source of revenue to fund the transportation system's
maintenance, operation, preservation and improvements;

(3) The motor vehicle fuel tax has been a fundamental means of
paying for state and federal roads. Until recently, these taxes
have been an adequate and stable source of revenue.

(4) A 2011 research brief prepared by the RAND Corporation’s
Infrastructure, Safety and Environment Program made the following
findings:

(A) Since 1980, vehicle miles traveled have doubled, while
fuel consumption itself has increased by just one half. Long-range
projections provided by the Energy Information Administration in
2012 on fuel consumption and vehicle miles traveled suggest that
this trend will continue;

(B) Conditions in the fuel market since the year 2000 have
changed consumers' tastes in the vehicle market, with a shift
toward vehicles with superior fuel economy and those that rely on
alternative fuels;

(C) Individual vehicle miles traveled are expected to grow
faster than fuel consumption in the coming decades; therefore,
alternative funding mechanisms based on alternative funding sources
such as vehicle miles traveled for roads and highways will provide
a more stable source of revenue;

(D) The Energy Information Administration projects that the
federal fuel tax should increase by about ten percent between 2015
and 2030, growing from $36 billion to $39 billion (in 2009
dollars);

(E) If, instead, fuel taxes are replaced with an alternative
funding source, such as fees based on vehicle miles traveled, in
2015 at an initially revenue-neutral rate, receipts will increase
by thirty-three percent over the same period, growing from $36
billion to $47 billion; and

(F) Other states, as well as the federal government, face the
same difficulty of stagnating fuel tax revenues. A number of other
states have embarked on pilot projects and other efforts over the
last decade to evaluate potential new systems for the assessment
and collection of taxes or fees for the use of a transportation
system. Such efforts have shown that new systems to assess a fee
based on usage of state and local roads are technologically
feasible today.

(b) Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to
establish the governance structure and lay the groundwork necessary
to adopt an alternative source of revenue collection for road
development and maintenance that will supplement the current system
of motor vehicle fuel taxation. To this end, this section provides
for a study, conducted by the Commissioner of Highways, to guide
the first stages of the transition, focusing on determining the
feasibility and optimal methods of implementation for a road user
assessment.

(c) The study, created under subsection (b) of this section,
shall authorize the Commissioner of Highways to do the following:

(1) Research and review relevant reports, data and efforts in
other states and at the federal level with regard to models of
assessment and methods of transitioning to an alternative system of
funding West Virginia roads and highways, and analyze the research
to identify issues for policy decisions in West Virginia;

(2) Make recommendations on the design for a pilot project or
projects. The recommendations shall be submitted to the
Legislature by January 31, 2014; and

(3) In developing recommendations, the Commissioner of
Highways shall do the following:

(A) Determine and apply criteria for identifying the most
promising road usage fee collection implementation options to
evaluate in a pilot project;

(B) Identify uncertainties that must be resolved in order to
develop a technically feasible and cost-effective system of road
use fee collection; and

(C) Propose legislation that will enable the establishment and
implementation of a pilot program or programs.

(d) In order to assist the Commissioner of Highways in making
recommendations, the Department of Highways may participate in
studies and limited pilot projects to test technical feasibility
that can be accomplished within existing resources.

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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to direct the Commissioner
of Highways to conduct a study on alternative revenue mechanisms
for development and maintenance of state roads and highways.

This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.)

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FINANCE COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

On page five, section eight-d, line eight, by striking out the
word “Department”, and inserting in lieu thereof the word
“Division”.